Hash Brown Quiche

Paula Deen had to take my hashbrown casserole and up the ante with a hash brown quiche.  While I got four thumbs up from my brunch guests, Paula has nearly 300 for this recipe.  What a show off.
This can also be scaled up into larger casserole dishes for larger groups, and the ingredients can be subbed out for just about any others you want to try. I agree with one reviewer though, in that I will cut WAY back on the butter - starting with maybe a quarter stick rather than a half. 
This can easily be served for any meal, not just breakfast or brunch.


Hash Brown Quiche
3 cups, shredded frozen hash browns, thawed and drained
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, melted
3 large eggs, beaten
1 cup half-and-half
3/4 cup diced cooked ham
1/2 cup diced green onions
1 cup shredded Cheddar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Gently press the drained hash browns between paper towels to dry them as best as possible. In a 9-inch pie plate, toss the hash browns with the melted butter into the plate. Press them into the bottom and up the sides to form a crust. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown and starting to crisp.
Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. When the hash brown crust is ready pour the egg mixture over it and return to the oven.
Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for about 30 minutes until the quiche is light golden brown on top and puffed.

Yet another frittata

My mom was kind enough to drive me all the way home rather than shoving me onto BART as she could've done. To thank her, I told her I'd make her some brunch. Well, what do you know, but I decided to do a frittata. Can't imagine why. I know we were calling those others quiches, but lets call a spade a spade. Without a crust, it's a frittata.
In any case, I have all my delicious South Beachy ingredients hanging out, hoping to be used before I leave for two weeks and they all spoil. Mom doesn't do mushrooms so those were out, but I had plenty of other produce hanging around. . . Perfect for a whatever frittata.

Whatever Frittata
1 tbsp olive oil
1/3 of a bunch of asparagus
1/2 medium Vidalia onion
two tomatoes
5 eggs
1/4 cup fat free milk
s&p
1 tsp sriracha
2 tbsp basil
1/4 cup shredded low fat cheese







I steamed the asparagus for a few minutes until it was just fork tender.
In the meantime, I pulled out my trusty cast iron skillet and sauteed the onions in the olive oil until soft and browned (though I think I should've gone all the way and caramelized them. I also think I'd use the whole onion next time as you couldn't actually taste onion in the finished dish).
Beat the eggs with the milk, and salt and pepper.
I cut one tomato into slices for the top of the fritatta and seeded & diced one for the filling. Once the asparagus was done, I cut it into bite sized pieces. I threw the tomatoes and asparagus in with the sauteeing onions to cook some of the liquid out, and added the Sriracha.
Then I poured the egg mixture over the veggies, gave it a quick stir to distribute everything and let it cook a bit on the stove top until the edges were beginning to set.
I popped it into a 350 oven and cooked it for 10-15 minutes, then pulled it out and sprinkled the top with cheese. Back in for 5 minutes to melt the cheese and finish cooking through.
I took it out and sprinkled the basil on top and let it sit for a few minutes to set up and cool down.
Then I cut it into quarters and we dove in, leaving a piece for each of us to have for breakfast tomorrow.

I'd like to tweak it a bit as there just wasn't enough depth of flavor for me. I mean, cooking it in butter would've been awesome, but I'm not cooking it in butter, so I have to come up with something else. I think upping the onions and making sure they're nice and darkly caramelized could help. Also, the addition of lean ham would've been a nice touch. I need to be sure to have some yummy Morningstar sausages on hand too as they would've been a fantastic complement.

Quiche crazy!

As I was looking for the real recipe for those little South Beach quiches, I stumbled across a forum where Ami from Ohio unleashed on the quiche. She had several good suggestions that I'd like to try out. I have tweaked them a little to my own tastes, but you can check the forum for the originals if you don't trust me as much as you trust Ami. She IS from Ohio after all.

Bacon Cheeseburger Quiche - Phase 1
(She adapted this one from lowcarbluxury.com)

1 lb. very lean hamburger or ground turkey
1 small chopped onion
4 slices crisp-cooked turkey bacon
3 eggs
1/2 cup fat free half-n-half
8 oz. low-fat shredded Cheddar or Swiss cheese
garlic powder to taste (optional)
pepper
(Ami's recipe called for mayo which I took right the hell out. I haven't made these yet to see if I need to sub the mayo with something else, but I usually go with plain yogurt that I've drained the excess moisture out of; I'd guess 1/4 cup would be sufficient)

Brown hamburger in skillet with onion.
Remove and mix in bowl with bacon pieces, breaking up any larger clumps with a fork or pastry
mixer until you have a fine mix. Drain well of any excess grease and press into the bottom of a deep-dish pie pan. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Combine remaining ingredients in mixer bowl and whip well.
Pour mixture over beef "crust" and bake 40-45 minutes until top is browned and "set".
Cool 15-20 minutes before slicing.
This can be packaged in Ziplocs or plastic containers for quick reheatable meals over the next 3-5 days though it does not freeze well.

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Mini Frittatas with Ham and Cheese
Source: (c) Cooking Light Magazine
8 servings (serving size: 3 frittatas)
Bake these bite-sized frittatas in a muffin pan. They taste great hot or at room temperature, so you can make them in advance.

Cooking spray
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
2/3 cup reduced-fat ham (about 2 ounces), chopped
1/3 cup (about 1 1/2 ounces) shredded reduced-fat extra-sharp cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
4 large egg whites
1 large egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 2 minutes or until crisp-tender. Add ham; sauté 3 minutes. Remove from heat; cool 5 minutes. Combine remaining ingredients in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Add ham mixture, stirring with a whisk. Spoon mixture into 24 miniature muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes or until set.

Nutrition Facts
8 servings (serving size: 3 frittatas)
Facts per Serving
Calories: 39
Fat: 1g
Carbohydrates: 2g
Cholesterol: 32mg
Sodium: 121mg
Protein: 4g
Fiber: 0g

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Spinach and Feta Quiche (mmm, Spanikopita-y)
10 oz package frozen spinach, thawed and very well drained
1/2 c onions, diced
1/4 eggbeaters OR 1 egg
1/2 c fat free Half and Half
6 oz low fat crumbled feta cheese
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp minced garlic

Place spinach in greased pie plate. Beat eggbeaters. Mix in cheese, half and half, and seasonings. Pour over spinach in pie plate.
Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Eat 1/4 for breakfast each morning.

South Beach

Follow me along as I South Beach my life, won't you?
Most of the recipes in these books are fantastic (except the desserts - don't go there) and even when I'm not "following" the diet, I tend to grab a lot of inspiration from them.
As I struggle through Phase 1 there are some definite misses. Again, with the desserts - don't bother with those ricotta things. They are so gritty and weird. I mean if you absolutely have to have something sweet and that's what you think you need to do, okay, but don't say I didn't warn you.
I made these little quiche cups the other night to take into work with me for breakfast and to keep in the freezer for quick and easy reheatable breakfasts at home. They're good, though I modified the standard recipe a bit, but the problem is they stick to the paper like the two have become one. To eat them, you fold them back in the middle and scrape your teeth all over the paper like a sea turtle scraping algae off rocks. Not surprisingly, I'd prefer not to do that next time, though I still have 8 mini quiches to get through before there is a next time.
I can't decide if I'd rather just spray the hell out of the muffin tins with Pam, or bake them in one large dish and cut them up into smaller pieces. In any case, if this is a recipe you're trying, that's my suggestion.

This makes 12 mini quiches, which is 6 servings.

1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach
4 eggs
3/4 cup shredded reduced-fat cheese
1/4 cup diced green bell pepper
1/4 cup diced red bell pepper
1/4 cup diced onion (I probably used more than 1/4 cup, I used half of a small onion)
Sriracha to taste preference, I used a couple of teaspoons and can't really taste it or feel the heat

Microwave the spinach for 2 1/2 minutes on high to thaw it. Drain the excess liquid.
Line a 12-cup muffin pan with foil baking cups (NOT PAPER!) and spray the cups with cooking spray. You can also try cooking this in one large dish. I hear that a loaf pan sprayed with cooking spray should take 30-35 minutes at 350, and then the loaf can be sliced into 8 slices. Each slice is the equivalent of 2 1/2 of the little guys (rather than the serving size of 2), so keep that in mind.

Combine the eggs, cheese, peppers, onions,spinach & Sriracha in a bowl. I set some of the cheese aside to sprinkle on top.
Mix well. Divide evenly among the muffin cups. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

• Quiche cups can be frozen and reheated in the microwave. Any combination of appropriate vegetables and reduced-fat cheeses may be used.